From: owner-scribes@castle.org (scribes digest) To: scribes-digest@castle.org Subject: scribes digest V1 #39 Reply-To: Sender: owner-scribes@castle.org Errors-To: owner-scribes@castle.org Precedence: bulk scribes digest Thursday, February 5 1998 Volume 01 : Number 039 In this issue: [scribes]: [Fwd: Irish Wax Tablets?] [scribes]: introducing myself Re: [scribes]: wide gold border backgrounds [scribes]: Estrella Re: [scribes]: Itinerant Writing Masters Re: [scribes]: wide gold border backgrounds Re: [scribes]: wide gold border backgrounds ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 05 Feb 1998 08:15:03 -0800 From: John Stracke Subject: [scribes]: [Fwd: Irish Wax Tablets?] My lady found this on the Rialto; it seemed apropos: > Subject: Re: Irish Wax Tablets? > Date: 5 Feb 1998 08:16:05 GMT > From: sca@teleport.com (Conor o Draoi) > Organization: Teleport - Portland's Public Access (503) 220-1016 > Newsgroups: rec.org.sca > References: <34D642C8.A93@rocketmail.com> > > In article <34D642C8.A93@rocketmail.com>, conchobar@rocketmail.com wrote: > > > I'm intrigued by a couple of entries into a book I picked up > > recently. The book is _Early Medieval Ireland 400-1200_, by > > Da/ibhi/ o/Cro/ini/n. My notes are: > > > > Springmount bog tablets - 6 small boards of yew 21 cm x 7.7 cm, > > 4 inner layers hollowed for beeswax, tied with leather thong. > > 6th century by letter forms. > > and > > Hisperica Famina had description of wax tablet "hewn from oak, > > outside decorated with painted designs and decorated borders" > > > snip < > > > 3. Are the pictures primarily on the ends, leaving room in the middle > > for plenty of wax? (changing the ratio of length:width). > > > > 4. Is pine an appropriate medium? I'm broke and have no oak. Besides, > > my chisels are dull. (grin). > > > > 5. Are they chiseled out or something else (burnt?)? > > > > Thanks for your insights! > > > > "Of honey laden bees I was first born, but in the forest grew my outer > coat; My tough back comes from shoes (the leather thongs), An iron point > in artful windings cuts a fair design, and leaves long twisted furrows > like a plough." > > This riddle describes the production and use of a wax tablet or wax book. > It comes from Saxon ecclesiastical writings of the mid-eighth century. > > I've also been researching wax tablets. I found a picture and a decription > of Roman wax tablets at "http://myron.sjsu.edu/romeweb/WRITERS/art2.htm" > that included the following: > > "For personal use and for short notes that would be erased later, they > used small wax tablets. These were usually bound together on a leather > thong or arranged to fold together like modern book covers or like an > accordion. The individual tablets were made of wood and had a raised edge, > forming a shallow box. Into this box, molten wax was poured and allowed to > cool with a smooth surface. This wax was usually a deep red or reddish > brown in color. A metal or bone STILVS (stylus) was used to write upon the > tablet, the pointed end to make the letters and the flattened end to > smooth over and "erase" writing that was no longer wanted. These folding > tablets and styli were the standard writing materials for Roman > schoolchildren. They went by many names. In Latin they were called cerae > or codices. In the Greek portion of the empire, they were called diptycha, > trypticha, and other names which began with the Greek word for the number > of individual tablets in the set." > > My guess on your question 3 is that much of the decoration would be on the > ends of the tablet beyond the wax area as I have in this crude ASCII > graphic: > > _____________________________ > | ________________ | > | | | | > | | | | > | D | | D | > | | | | > | |________________| | > |____________________________| > > While the people who made them hadn't studied ergonomics, it would make > sense to have a handrest as part of the tablet. Funny, that's why there is > a similar handrest in most pen-based PDAs today. I must confess, I've been > thinking seriously of carving a "wax tablet" like this and slipping it > over my Newton, just as a joke. I know it's _really_ sick, but that's > me... ;-) > > Conchobar, if you want, come over to my shop, and we'll take a stab at > carving out a couple of tablets. I've got a fair amount of oak left over > from when I was a furniture maker, plenty of beeswax, and those > wicked-sharp Japenese chisels... > > Conor o'Draoi > Chronicler, Barony of Three Mountains - -- /================================================================\ |John Francis Stracke| http://www.thibault.org |S/MIME & HTML OK| |francis@thibault.org|===========================================| |Power Mac w/PPP | My strength is as the strength of ten | |My Mac, my opinions.| because my code is pure. | \================================================================/ ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 5 Feb 1998 13:03:12 -0600 (CST) From: Rhiannon Subject: [scribes]: introducing myself As per the request.... I am Geileis nic Dhughaill. I am a part of the College of Grey Gargoyles, in the Midrealm. I'm just getting started with illumination (well, I've been doing it for about four months now), and I've done a few borders that I think are good enough to go as scroll blanks. I've started using period pigments (you know, mixing the pigment with gum arabic myself, etc...), but I'm not doing much with it until I get ahold of a better gold paint. (anyone know of good sources for shell/powdered gold? Does anyone have advice about which I should try? Shell gold is just powdered gold mixed with gum arabic, right?) Mundanely, I'm Rhiannon Keisch-Walter, an undergraduate at the University of Chicago studying linguistics and medieval studies. Geileis nic Dhughaill //College of Grey Gargoyles, Midrealm Rhiannon Keisch-Walter //Chicago, IL ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 5 Feb 1998 14:30:16 EST From: PTS21@aol.com Subject: Re: [scribes]: wide gold border backgrounds In a message dated 98-02-05 09:15:09 EST, cebaker@rs6000.cmp.ilstu.edu writes: << I have noticed on some of these gold backgrounds, when 'realistic' looking flowers are painted 'in front of' the gold background, the illuminator often puts a reddish looking shadow behind the flower. I have not had a chance to look at any real manuscript pages to determine how this shadow effect is achieved. Are they painting on top of the gold, or is some of the gold scraped away to leave the reddish bole or gesso showing through? >> That's the style that we here sometimes refer to as squashed bug. In a number of the ones that look gold, they've actually done Yellow Ochre and then highlighted parts with shell gold. This way, you're not using so much gold. You can paint the gold where you want it and leave your shadows as shadows. Any body else? It's been a couple of months since I've seen the real thing so my memory is a bit fuzzy. Cori Ghora, deputy AEthelmearc Signet Clare Jackson, North Tonawanda, NY (just north of Buffalo) pts21@aol.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 5 Feb 1998 14:34:10 EST From: PTS21@aol.com Subject: [scribes]: Estrella A while ago, some folks were batting around the idea of a scribes gathering at Estrella. Did anything come of it? I'll be flying out late Wednesday, and, while I know there's one or two classes listed, I was looking forward to a general get together as well. If anyone has any info, I'd be really interested. Thanks, Cori Ghora, deputy AEthelmearc signet Clare Jackson, North Tonawanda, NY (just north of Buffalo) pts21@aol.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 05 Feb 1998 15:11:40 -0600 From: Cornelius Perkins Subject: Re: [scribes]: Itinerant Writing Masters Emily SD Thompson wrote: > Try _Scribes_and_Sources_, Handbook of the Chancery Hand in the Sixteenth > Century, Texts from the Writing-Masters selected, introduced and > translated by A.S. Osley, with an account of John de Beauchesne by > Berthold Wolpe. Pub. David R. Godine, Boston, 1980; ISBN No. 0 87923 297 > 8. Emily, you are a wonder! Not only have you helped L.A.Christie, you've helped me - this is the book I was looking for a week or so ago. John de Beauchesne is the guy who published the first English-language writing sample book. Thank you thank you thank you. I have "Penmanship of the XVIth etc" on order, but this is the book I'm looking for. Neil - -- // Cornelius Perkins cperkins@nothinbut.net // http://www.nothinbut.net/~cperkins // In girum imus nocte et consumimur igni ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 5 Feb 1998 15:40:33 EST From: FITCHYBEAR@aol.com Subject: Re: [scribes]: wide gold border backgrounds In a message dated 98-02-05 09:15:09 EST, cebaker@rs6000.cmp.ilstu.edu writes: << I have not had a chance to look at any real manuscript pages to determine how this shadow effect is achieved. Are they painting on top of the gold, or is some of the gold scraped away to leave the reddish bole or gesso showing through? >> My guess would be painting on top of the gold. Take fresh garlic cloves and crush them, put them into a cup and cover with a baggie, let sit for 2-3 days and the garlic juice will release. Mix the garlic juice with the paint and paint it on the gold....it may take a couple of applications to get it just right but you dont want the shadow to be opaque anyway.........JimBear ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 5 Feb 1998 18:01:55 -0500 From: randyaf@provide.net (Randy & Melody Asplund-Faith) Subject: Re: [scribes]: wide gold border backgrounds >Lady Enid nicEoin of Ponte Alto said with the solid gold backgrounds, and I have been experimenting with >techniques to ge the gold to look righ> > >I have noticed on some of these gold backgrounds, when 'realistic' looking >flowers are painted 'in front of' the gold background, the illuminator often >puts a reddish looking shadow behind the flower. I have not had a chance to >look at any real manuscript pages to determine how this shadow effect is >achieved. Are they painting on top of the gold, or is some of the gold >scraped away to leave the reddish bole or gesso showing through? > >Any ideas or opinions on the 'best' way to execute this type of border? > >Thanks, >Ellen of the Scholars >Baile na Scolairi (Middle Kingdom) > There are several ways of doing gold. Leaf gilded over gesso was sometimes painted over with oil paint. If your leaves and flowers have a bright highlight from flash photography around their edges, they may be leaf on gesso. Otherwise are you sure you are looking at a gilded area? Areas under significant solid objects like floweres were more likely NOT gilded under the image. The shading can be tempera or oil since the metal should show through. I've seen a lot of Flemish pages where the golden area was actually yellow paint. Sometimes it is thin washes of shell gold. You can paint on either of these. Look again at what you are imitating and try to determine if it is one of these two. I bet it is. Randy Asplund-Faith 2101 S. Circle Dr. Ann Arbor, MI. 48103 http://www.provide.net/~randyaf ------------------------------ End of scribes digest V1 #39 ****************************